Portugal's Sensational Victory: Telma Encarnacao and Francisca Nazareth Propel Team Towards Qualification!

Portugal's chances of reaching the last-16 of the World Cup remained alive as they secured a comfortable 2-0 victory over Vietnam. However, Vietnam's hopes of progressing to the knock-outs have ended. This historic win for Portugal at the Women's World Cup came from goals scored in the first half by Telma Encarnacao and Francisca Nazareth. Now, Portugal is aware that a surprising victory against the reigning champions, the USA, in their final match would secure their qualification.

In just seven minutes, Portugal found a breakthrough against Vietnam. Lucia Alves delivered a perfectly floated ball, which was elegantly finished on the half-volley by Encarnacao. Continuing their momentum, the Maritimo forward played the role of a provider by delivering an inch-perfect through ball to Nazareth, who cleverly swept it home. This goal gave Portugal an unassailable lead, barely 20 minutes into the game.

How Portugal sealed first ever Women's World Cup win

Portugal coach Francisco Neto made seven changes to the team that lost 1-0 to the Netherlands in their Group E opener and the decision paid off as they secured a penalty when substitute Carolina Mendes was seemingly tackled in the box by Vietnam defender Thi Loan Hoang. However, both the referee and VAR failed to recognize the foul, denying Portugal a potential third goal. Nonetheless, the Portuguese team managed to clinch their first ever World Cup victory thanks to first-half goals from Encarnacao and Francisca Nazareth.

Neto will be overjoyed with the impressive performance demonstrated by Portugal on Thursday, as they showcased a captivating display under the floodlights. This stark contrast to their initial struggle highlights their improved form, even though the final scoreline failed to accurately reflect their undeniable dominance.

Image:

Telma Encarnacao opened the scoring against Vietnam with a well-struck half-volley

Portugal took the lead after just seven minutes when Encarnacao skillfully finished a cross from Lucia Alves. She then turned provider for Nazareth, who scored in the 21st minute, putting the ball past goalkeeper Tran Thi Kim Thanh. Despite only an 11-place difference in the world rankings, the match was completely dominated by Portugal. They had five shots on target in the first half alone and remained on top throughout the contest.

Despite Kim Thanh's exceptional performance in limiting the United States to three goals in Vietnam's initial loss, she once again played a crucial role in preventing them from conceding more than two goals. However, despite her efforts, Vietnam faced challenges in creating opportunities and only managed to have a single shot on target during the match, when Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy forced a save from Patricia Morais just before halftime.

What is the schedule?

The group stage has commenced and will span a duration of two weeks, concluding on August 3. The top-performing teams from each group, as determined by the group winners and runners-up, will advance to the round of 16, which will be carried out from August 5 to August 8.

Moving forward, the quarter-finals are set to take place on August 11 and 12, and will be hosted in Wellington, Auckland, Brisbane, and Sydney.

The first semi-final is scheduled for August 15 in Auckland, followed by the second semi-final on August 16 at the Accor Stadium in Sydney. The final match will be held at the Accor Stadium on August 20. A third-place play-off is also set to take place on August 19 in Brisbane, one day prior to the final.